Lay Down This Armour.

Two

Three years earlier, Siberia.

He wheezed painfully. The cold slowly sipped into his body, the suit no longer keeping him warm with its power disabled. It had been twenty four hours since Rodgers left with his murderous besty. Tony thought of them with a bitterness that threatened to choke him. Steve had destroyed everything they had worked for, the family they had built all for one person. He had chosen to protect himself and his friend by keeping the true nature of his parents' deaths from Tony.
Great to know I am not even worthy to know how my own parents died to you, Cap.
That was the last thought he had before he faded into unconsciousness.
Later, voices woke him. He was too tired to look up, but the words cut through his foggy mind easily.
' This is the best gift one could ask for. One of the most brilliant minds wrapped up like a gift. By the time we are done with you, Mr Stark, you will be greatest and most feared sword of HYDRA,' an accented voice sneered.
Tony drifted back into darkness as his chest clenched with dread.

Two and a half years later, Wakanda.

Wanda, Clint, Natasha, Scott, Sam, Steve and Bucky were in the palace gym sparring when T'challa walked in. He looked like he had just come out of a meeting.
'Your Highness,' Steve greeted while the rest nodded respectfully in greeting as well,' how may we help you?'
' I have come to relay a message from your government and the Accords council. You all have been pardoned and your presence is urgently requested in your land,'
They were all visibly shocked.
' What brought this on if you don't mind us asking?'
' There is a threat that has proved too powerful for the Avengers and you are to help them. All will be explained when we get there tomorrow. I advise you to get ready as we leave tonight,' he said before leaving.
They all exchanged looks.
' Isn't this a bit too weird?' Sam sfoffed.
' It is. I don't like it. And Stark haa been too quiet for my liking. What could they be planning?' Wanda asked.
' Stark probably got tired of his little Accords pet project and dropped it,' Clint said bitterly.
' We have to trust T'challa won't betray us and we should check this threat out. We can't ignore it if they are desperate enough to pardon us,' Steve pointed out.
'My curiosity has certainly peeked,' Natasha spoke.

Thirty hours later, Avengers compound.

Steve's team sat opposite the official Avengers in the redesigned boardroom. The last time they had been here, the Accords had formed a schism amongst them. They wondered what this meeting would bring. There was a quiet animosity between the two groups. The Fantastic Four with the inclusion of Spiderman, Vision and Wasp or Hope Van Dyne eyed Steve and his team. Scott was all but squirming under Hope's piercing and angry gaze solely directed at him. The silence broke with, to the former fugitives' surprise, Bruce entering the room wheeling Rhodey in. All of the former avengers looked at Rhodes in surprise, except for Sam.
' How?' Clint started.
' Did I become paralysed Barton? It happened in Germany. Not that you cared,' he spat.
Sam looked down in shame. But he found his voice.
' Hey I am so sorry, man. Stark and I tried to catch you but...' Sam croaked.
' Don't sweat it, man. I will tell you what I told Tony. Its not your fault and I chose to fight. Its not like I didn't consider the possibility of such an outcome in all my combat missions,' he said surprisingly soft to Sam.
Clint wanted to kick himself, remembering what he had said to Tony at the raft. Don't give your back to this one, coz he will break it.
Tony had flinched for a second, but Clint had not paid any mind to it.
Soon after, Everett Ross, T'challa and Pepper Pots walked in. The woman looked haggard, but put together as always. Steve's group wondered silently why she was there instead of Tony.
' Okay people. You all know why all of you are here. We need joint coordination and cooperation from you lot. The Accords are in the process of being dissolved, but states still retain the choice of having you intervene in their crises or not. That should get rid of one elephant in the room, right Mr Rodgers?' the small man smiled. Everyone noticed the intentional use of the wrong title, but said nothing. This meeting was going to end in disaster. He continued to speak.
' HYDRA has had time to re mobilise. We were curtailing their ranks, but they got a deadly ace up their sleeve which appeared about a year and a half ago,' he said and turned on the tv screen. A video of a battle in a New York played. Steve and his team noticed what they were supposed to see. A winged and masked individual ripped through agents and the police alike like a knife through butter. His expansive wings acted lethaly as both shield and weapon. At one point he soared into the sky with an agent in his hand before dropping the man to his death. Pepper looked away from the screen.
' They call him the Mechanic. He has an adamantium arm and wings. We don't know how they got a hold of it for his arm. The wings seem organic. We got lucky in one of our raids on a HYDRA base and found skeletal files, but they shed a lot of light. He was given the serum so he is a super soldier. He had a recessive x gene which interacted with the serum. It resulted in technopathy and the wings. We consulted Professor Charles Xavier and he estimated his technopathy to be border line level six. This means he can hack into any computer in the world and command anything remotely tech mentally. He also suspects his skeleton is  adamantium infused. He is under their brainwashing but this version is new to us. He is without a doubt the worst nightmare we have faced. He has done more damage in the past eighteen months than the Winter Soldier in half the time he was active and he is not hiding in the shadows,'
' And were is Stark in all this shit storm. I don't see him trying to clean this mess up or did he decide to retire again and be a coward about it,' Clint sneered.
' What did you say?' the eery calm in Pepper's voice threatened a lot of pain as she narrowed her eyes at Clint.
' Miss Potts,' T'challa spoke softly.
'No. I want him to say what he said again,' she said as she got up to stand at the head of the table. She was now openly glaring at Clint and the rest the ex fugitives. Clint spoke again.
' He made us go through hell and for what, so he could just sit back and not correct his mistakes. He should be here,'
' He did not make any of you go through hell, Mr Barton. You all made your choices, as did the rest of us. So get off your high horses,' Hope sneered back.
'Who are you again?' Clint asked rudely.
' They call me Wasp. I also happen to be the daughter of the man who made the ant man suit your friend here chose to blatantly use to aid criminals,' she spat as she glared at Scott, ' Hank can't wait to have a word or two with you. He might not have trusted the Starks, but you did something far worse than Howard did. Oh and I can't wait to show you how much wasps and bees would like a taste of you,' sinisterly.
' Come now, Hope. Be patient. I still have to answer Mr Barton here, ' Pepper said serenely,' Friday. Move on to the file please,'
' Of course Miss Potts,' the AI responded. The video on the screen changed to a file page and Clint and the rest of the former heroes gasped. Beside the name of the Mechanic was a picture of Tony's face. His eyes were an icy luminescent blue.
' The eyes are different, but I am sure you can do the math,' Pepper said with a polite voice,'That is were he is. Killing mindlessly for an organisation that murdered his own parents in cold blood. Captain Rodgers, you want to know were they got a hold of him?' she looked at Steve. She was going to continue but he already suspected with dread,'in Siberia after you left him for dead. Zemo told us how he showed the three of you Howard and Maria dying at the hands of your precious friend. Something you had known for two years before that. Right, Natasha?'
Natasha looked down and didn't respond.
' You saved your family, Captain Rodgers and that is well and fine. But you did that at the expense of mine,'Pepper's voice rose.
Just then, a tiny blur of energy ran into the room and clambered onto Rhodey's lap. The ex fugitives looked in confusion at a red haired toddler. She giggled as she burrowed herself further into Rhodey.
' I am sorry Miss Potts. She ran away from Mr Hogan,' Friday chimed in apologetically.
' Its fine Friday,' Pepper's voice losing all its heat. She turned to the toddler.
' Antonia Maria Stark. Look at me, young lady,' she said in a firm but soft voice. The little head turned and the group stared right into Tony's brown eyes. Shock radiated through half the room.
' What did I say about running into rooms were adults are busy?'
' You said it is rude?' the beautiful girl asked cautiously.
' Right. And what do you say?'
' Sowi,' she responded in a chastised tone.
' Peter, do you mind taking her. You can keep up with her better than Happy can,' she said tiredly.
' Sure Miss Potts,' the teenager said as he got up and picked the toddler up from Rhodey. They heard giggling as the pair disappeared. Steve was the first to recover.
' He told me you were on a break and you weren't pregnant,' he said to Pepper softly.
' I didn't expect it and I hadn't told him before your shit fest of a war started. Now that baby has to live in a world where her father is a killing machine. Even if he comes home, do you think he will feel that she will be safe around him? Like I said, Rodgers, you stomped all over my family to protect yours. So you no longer get to ignorantly stay in Wakanda, at the grace of T'challa. No. You are going to face the monster you helped create or god help us all, he might end up targeting his own child,' she croaked, tears threatening to fall. She immediately stepped out of the room. Bruce followed after her.
A stony silence followed. Hope and her team glared in satisfaction at the anguish plastered on the faces across them.
' Right. Now that you have been soundly answered, lets get back to the order of business. He is systematically stealing information pertinent to national and world security and weakening our defence systems. We think he is working his way up to getting the football for HYDRA. If he gets it, he gets everything they need to plunge the world into World War 3. This means that eventually, President Ellis is going to be in his cross hairs and so far, he has not missed. So, people. Let's get to work,' Everett clapped his hands.

Two hours later, they entered the common floor. Bruce and Pepper were sitting by the kitchen island and Peter was on a couch with Antonia, reading to her. Pepper got up and kissed Bruce goodnight on his cheek.
' Peter. Bring her up at eight. She had a long day. If she gives you trouble settling down you call me,' resolutely ignoring the other people in the room.
' Don't worry Miss Potts. I can handle her. Go rest. She is not the only one who had a long day,'
She smiled in thanks before walking out. Reed and his family left afterwards. Hope moved to leave as well, her eyes landing threateningly on Scott before she turned to kiss Antonia's forehead goodbye before leaving.
' Oh man. I am afraid for my life. Can I be put in witsec or something?' Scott groaned.
' I think that woman will find you regardless,' Sam chuckled.
They all settled around on the love seats and couches.
' If you wish to retire, your old quaters are still your own,' Vision offered. Mr Barnes, your quaters are next to the Captain's. Miss Potts on occasion lives here and uses Mr Stark's quaters and would appreciate it if none of you wander anywhere near that vicinity.
' You don't have to worry about me. After today, I will be lucky if she doesn't drain my bank accounts and erase my identity if I so much as look at her,' Clint groaned.
' Its easy to forget how dangerous she can be underneath all her usual CEO composure and tact,' Sam spoke up.
The little girl squirmed out of Peter's arms and moved down from the couch. The group watched to see what she would do. She moved to stand in front of Natasha. She stared at her wide eyed.
' I like your hair,' she said softly.
' You do?'
A nod.
' Well you want to know a secret?'
Another nod.
' You have the prettiest hair I have ever seen,'
' Its not,' giggling and blushing at the praise.
' Its too. And those eyes are so sparkly and magical. You are a lucky girl, sweety,'
More embarrassed giggling sounded.
' Can I braid your hair?' came the timid request. Natasha looked at Bruce.
' She won't take no for an answer,' Bruce said as he nodded in approval.
' Sure you can,' Natasha sank to the floor and Antonia started the braiding, quietly muttering the steps to herself, her eyebrows knit in child like determination to finish the daunting task with her tiny hands.
' She likes you. Hasn't given a single glance to the rest of us,' Steve said.
' Don't take it personally Captain. She has a thing for red heads and men are practically invisible to her,' Peter addressed him.
Reluctant conversation ensued for about half an hour before Peter got up.
' Okay, Nia. Time for bed,'
' Peter,' she whined, still playing with Natasha's hair.
' Don't play with me, little lady. It won't work,' he said as he grabbed her. She sighed in hilarious resignation, accepting her fate.
' Night night Asha,' she said as she waved at Natasha from Peter's arms.
' Night night, Nia,' she crooned.
Peter stopped by Bruce, whose neck was hugged by tiny hands.
' Night uncle Bruce,'
He kissed her forehead.
' Night princess,'
' Okay luv. Lets go say goodnight to uncle Rhodey and we go to bed,' Peter said as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
'We have to bring him home,' Bucky said after the teenager and toddler left.
'I failed two Stark generations. I can't fail another,' he continued.
' We all failed him. We will get him back,' Clint said quietly. They descended into contemplative silence.

Their first joint encounter came a week after. The video they saw did not do his terrible grace and deadliness justice. He did not linger as soon as he felt he had gotten what he wanted. They were told soon after that top secret NSA files had been downloaded from a secure server in the same area they had been fighting him.